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God's Forge
A legion of elite, monastic fighting men, the Knights Templar were the most fearsome warriors of the Crusades, writing their legend in the gory sands of the Middle East with the blood of their enemies and their own. It was they who took the Holy Land, and they who held it. Answering only to the Pope, they bowed before no king or crown.
Returned from the Crusades and stationed in Paris, Brother William has grown disillusioned with the Order and plans to leave it. But as their Paris stronghold is seized by royal troops, William leads a small band of Templars in a desperate escape, fleeing with them into the night.
Alternately fighting and running, struggling to understand the world that has turned on them so viciously, they cross paths with a brutalized young prostitute. Open and proud about her sins, she ushers William and his comrades toward dark truths about the city festering around them, about its rulers and the church they’ve sworn to defend—all in a race to escape that will leave the streets of Paris bloody and end the pursuit of these soldiers of God.
Returned from the Crusades and stationed in Paris, Brother William has grown disillusioned with the Order and plans to leave it. But as their Paris stronghold is seized by royal troops, William leads a small band of Templars in a desperate escape, fleeing with them into the night.
Alternately fighting and running, struggling to understand the world that has turned on them so viciously, they cross paths with a brutalized young prostitute. Open and proud about her sins, she ushers William and his comrades toward dark truths about the city festering around them, about its rulers and the church they’ve sworn to defend—all in a race to escape that will leave the streets of Paris bloody and end the pursuit of these soldiers of God.
260 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2012
3 people are currently reading
463 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Dorsey
27 books6 followersPatrick Dorsey has spent his career as a professional business writer helping people and businesses tell their stories. A natural storyteller his whole life, he began creating his own books in first grade by stapling together crayoned pages. A St. Louis native in all but birthplace, he holds a degree in English from the University of Missouri, St. Louis. It was in college he also began fencing, which he continues to pursue as an instructor and as president of the St. Louis Fencers Club. GOD'S FORGE is his first novel published without either a stapler or crayons.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 11, 2020
I was interested in the book because I've met Pat, and when I was a boy I was in the Order of Demolay, a masonic youth group taking its name from the grand master. So, I got to reading.
I have to say it wasn't a great read for me. The story has possibilities, and the Templars are certainly worthy, but I found the prose dull. There was a leaden nature to things, and some confusion in structure. The Acre flashbacks, while opening the story and getting it off to a bang, recurred throughout the novel with no rhyme or reason and it took a moment to realize where you were.
Also, Allessandra, a woman fleeing for her life in the siege and rescued by a Templar, seems to be a major character, but is dropped after the opening chapter. Odd to develop someone then she's gone, and the book could have used more women.
The knights seemed underdeveloped and dull. I never got any excitement to them or their situation, and the battle scenes needed spice and pace. It was just a recounting of severed limbs and crunching bones. Dorsey lists many historical references at the close, and it seemed well-researched, but it needed some oomph.
Description was the same; repetition, long paragraphs starting every chapter, and a lot of words kept reappearing. 'Swirled.' Does one really 'swirl' instead of 'spin?" How do you swirl on horseback?
The story needed more proofing, as similar words kept cropping up in paragraphs.
As for characters, Lisette seemed the only one that got my attention. She was spunky, brash, did things, and took the initiative. The knights never really came to life.
Also, I know we need descriptions of a crummy, dirty, Paris, but there was descriptions of mud and slime every third sentence, over and over, as with a driving rain again and again. Okay, we got it the first time, and second time. we didn't need the eleventh.
There is an important plot element that is revealed in almost the last few pages, but hardly mentioned in the book. There also was a lot of torture...I understand the need, but it was dull and monotonous...like one scene where a knight kills and maims a hundred (!) men, over and over.
A close to the book is kind of stirring, but comes too quick to be really appreciated.
I also note the cover was arresting and strong, but the knight is wearing not the Templar's cross, but the usual Crusader cross, with a German eagle on top. More like the Teutonic Knights, but I'm kind of a history buff, and having been published, I know how publishers can muck with the cover.
I think the book had possibilities, but needed a final re-write.
I have to say it wasn't a great read for me. The story has possibilities, and the Templars are certainly worthy, but I found the prose dull. There was a leaden nature to things, and some confusion in structure. The Acre flashbacks, while opening the story and getting it off to a bang, recurred throughout the novel with no rhyme or reason and it took a moment to realize where you were.
Also, Allessandra, a woman fleeing for her life in the siege and rescued by a Templar, seems to be a major character, but is dropped after the opening chapter. Odd to develop someone then she's gone, and the book could have used more women.
The knights seemed underdeveloped and dull. I never got any excitement to them or their situation, and the battle scenes needed spice and pace. It was just a recounting of severed limbs and crunching bones. Dorsey lists many historical references at the close, and it seemed well-researched, but it needed some oomph.
Description was the same; repetition, long paragraphs starting every chapter, and a lot of words kept reappearing. 'Swirled.' Does one really 'swirl' instead of 'spin?" How do you swirl on horseback?
The story needed more proofing, as similar words kept cropping up in paragraphs.
As for characters, Lisette seemed the only one that got my attention. She was spunky, brash, did things, and took the initiative. The knights never really came to life.
Also, I know we need descriptions of a crummy, dirty, Paris, but there was descriptions of mud and slime every third sentence, over and over, as with a driving rain again and again. Okay, we got it the first time, and second time. we didn't need the eleventh.
There is an important plot element that is revealed in almost the last few pages, but hardly mentioned in the book. There also was a lot of torture...I understand the need, but it was dull and monotonous...like one scene where a knight kills and maims a hundred (!) men, over and over.
A close to the book is kind of stirring, but comes too quick to be really appreciated.
I also note the cover was arresting and strong, but the knight is wearing not the Templar's cross, but the usual Crusader cross, with a German eagle on top. More like the Teutonic Knights, but I'm kind of a history buff, and having been published, I know how publishers can muck with the cover.
I think the book had possibilities, but needed a final re-write.
November 14, 2014
A Trickster Eric Novels review
Patrick Dorsey asked me to read his novel, "God's Forge". It is a dramatization of the night that the Knight Templar headquarters was sacked and the order dissolved. I will examine plot, characters and polish and then assign a grade.
PLOT
The plot's conflict is basically for a group of Templar knights to escape the order's headquarters in Paris when it is sieged by King Philip IV. However, there are other threads: Andre carrying a special package, numerous scenes with the king alone, the string of humiliations suffered by the Templar grandmaster, and a whore's own machinations. Interwoven with all of these is cutbacks to the Fall of Acre to the Saracens. While all of these are interesting enough on their own, mixing them all together is a pain. The main plotline is bloated and bogged down with the minor ones, and the minor ones feel underdeveloped.
This is a dramatization of the historical event in place of an original story. Anyone that knows the basic story of the Templars (Powerful soldiers of God, sacked in one knight, and may or may not have found the Holy Grail and disappeared to somewhere else) will not be surprised by the events taking place. It is an interesting dramatization (not as dry as a straight-forward fact-based historical record, for instance) but a dramatization it remains. I would have liked to focus on the events afterwards.
There are too many coincidences for me to ignore. A couple is realistic because real life is full of chances and accidents. In here there are too many: 1.) A courier with a special something just happens to arrive at the Templar Grand Temple within minutes of King Philip's siege, 2.) One knight plans to leave the temple as soon as his horse gives birth, which happens also within a few minutes of leaving the temple. 3.) A squire drops armor in the small time frame between the start of the siege and before the arrests begin, which is why William has any allies at all. 4.) Out of all of Paris, the Templars stumble upon a blacksmith abusing a whore who leads them to a tavern where 5.) A royal guard captain just happens to share the same room as them. 6.) After avoiding the main force of this royal captain, the Templars stumble into three stranglers who were taking a piss. 7.) When Listette is looking for the Templars, she stumbles into three soldiers she's on bad terms with; just these three out of the entire company that were maimed but not killed by the Templars.
There's an abandoned plot thread about mid-book. The Templars realize the moral and social rot of the city they're posted in and decide to save souls in Christendom before going back to the Holy Land. They determine this is why The Lord allowed them to lose the Holy Land to the Muslims; they need to "get their own house in order first". It's not directly stated if their later actions are tied to this, but given the fact that they are God's Army, it is not out of the question.
Finally, I don't understand why the grandmaster gave up without a fight. If the goal was to distract King Philip then certainly a fight in the front gate would hold attention there and pull forces away from the back. If nothing else, the king wouldn't be thinking about "rounding up fugitives" and instead about "take the citadel!"
The ending is fantastic. As you can tell by now I have problems with the body of the plot but the ending is fantastic. It is a falling action kind of tone, it has closure, and it complies with the historical record while at the same time, not quite as dismal.
CHARACTERS
Characters are diverse. The Templar fugitives are like a microcosms of the Templars themselves. There is William the veteran Knight in Shinning Armor, Andre the naïve and noble newbie, Etienne whose just a unforged squire, Odo the Cool Old Guy, the contrasting Francesco with his age and dogmatism and Armande who is here just to wash away his excommunication. You have the full range of experience, idealism/cynicism, and the belief what it means to be part of God's army.
Lisette is a complicated character. She's a street walker and proud of it, but only because her family disowned her for being raped. She tells William she had no choice in terms of profession but when he mentions becoming a nun, she says such a thing wouldn't suit her. Whether or not she knew of this specific nunnery order before or after she became a whore would mean the difference between hypocrisy and a "too far gone" mentality.
There's also an interesting split between the villains. King Philip doesn't appear to have anything against the Templars pre say. He just needs to make "his beloved France solvent again" and the Templars appear to be his best shot. Imbert the head inquisitor, genuinely believes that he is an instrument of God in weeding out corruption and that the Templars, as an organization, are corrupt. He is willing to make exceptions for individual members, provided they confess and seek reconciliation, of course. Lower down the chain, you have officers motivated by a variety of selfish things: money, lust, success, recognition etc.
As you can see, I am much more favorable to the character than I am to the plot itself. The individual scenes are better: well written, character driven, etc. The problem is the larger picture.
POLISH
I spotted a couple spelling errors. It's nothing major.
If there's a reason for the inclusion of the Acre plotline, after the action prologue, I don't see it.
There's some good history stuff in here and a glossary of references so that's nice for history buffs like me.
Trickster Eric Novels gives "God's Forge" a C+
Patrick Dorsey asked me to read his novel, "God's Forge". It is a dramatization of the night that the Knight Templar headquarters was sacked and the order dissolved. I will examine plot, characters and polish and then assign a grade.
PLOT
The plot's conflict is basically for a group of Templar knights to escape the order's headquarters in Paris when it is sieged by King Philip IV. However, there are other threads: Andre carrying a special package, numerous scenes with the king alone, the string of humiliations suffered by the Templar grandmaster, and a whore's own machinations. Interwoven with all of these is cutbacks to the Fall of Acre to the Saracens. While all of these are interesting enough on their own, mixing them all together is a pain. The main plotline is bloated and bogged down with the minor ones, and the minor ones feel underdeveloped.
This is a dramatization of the historical event in place of an original story. Anyone that knows the basic story of the Templars (Powerful soldiers of God, sacked in one knight, and may or may not have found the Holy Grail and disappeared to somewhere else) will not be surprised by the events taking place. It is an interesting dramatization (not as dry as a straight-forward fact-based historical record, for instance) but a dramatization it remains. I would have liked to focus on the events afterwards.
There are too many coincidences for me to ignore. A couple is realistic because real life is full of chances and accidents. In here there are too many: 1.) A courier with a special something just happens to arrive at the Templar Grand Temple within minutes of King Philip's siege, 2.) One knight plans to leave the temple as soon as his horse gives birth, which happens also within a few minutes of leaving the temple. 3.) A squire drops armor in the small time frame between the start of the siege and before the arrests begin, which is why William has any allies at all. 4.) Out of all of Paris, the Templars stumble upon a blacksmith abusing a whore who leads them to a tavern where 5.) A royal guard captain just happens to share the same room as them. 6.) After avoiding the main force of this royal captain, the Templars stumble into three stranglers who were taking a piss. 7.) When Listette is looking for the Templars, she stumbles into three soldiers she's on bad terms with; just these three out of the entire company that were maimed but not killed by the Templars.
There's an abandoned plot thread about mid-book. The Templars realize the moral and social rot of the city they're posted in and decide to save souls in Christendom before going back to the Holy Land. They determine this is why The Lord allowed them to lose the Holy Land to the Muslims; they need to "get their own house in order first". It's not directly stated if their later actions are tied to this, but given the fact that they are God's Army, it is not out of the question.
Finally, I don't understand why the grandmaster gave up without a fight. If the goal was to distract King Philip then certainly a fight in the front gate would hold attention there and pull forces away from the back. If nothing else, the king wouldn't be thinking about "rounding up fugitives" and instead about "take the citadel!"
The ending is fantastic. As you can tell by now I have problems with the body of the plot but the ending is fantastic. It is a falling action kind of tone, it has closure, and it complies with the historical record while at the same time, not quite as dismal.
CHARACTERS
Characters are diverse. The Templar fugitives are like a microcosms of the Templars themselves. There is William the veteran Knight in Shinning Armor, Andre the naïve and noble newbie, Etienne whose just a unforged squire, Odo the Cool Old Guy, the contrasting Francesco with his age and dogmatism and Armande who is here just to wash away his excommunication. You have the full range of experience, idealism/cynicism, and the belief what it means to be part of God's army.
Lisette is a complicated character. She's a street walker and proud of it, but only because her family disowned her for being raped. She tells William she had no choice in terms of profession but when he mentions becoming a nun, she says such a thing wouldn't suit her. Whether or not she knew of this specific nunnery order before or after she became a whore would mean the difference between hypocrisy and a "too far gone" mentality.
There's also an interesting split between the villains. King Philip doesn't appear to have anything against the Templars pre say. He just needs to make "his beloved France solvent again" and the Templars appear to be his best shot. Imbert the head inquisitor, genuinely believes that he is an instrument of God in weeding out corruption and that the Templars, as an organization, are corrupt. He is willing to make exceptions for individual members, provided they confess and seek reconciliation, of course. Lower down the chain, you have officers motivated by a variety of selfish things: money, lust, success, recognition etc.
As you can see, I am much more favorable to the character than I am to the plot itself. The individual scenes are better: well written, character driven, etc. The problem is the larger picture.
POLISH
I spotted a couple spelling errors. It's nothing major.
If there's a reason for the inclusion of the Acre plotline, after the action prologue, I don't see it.
There's some good history stuff in here and a glossary of references so that's nice for history buffs like me.
Trickster Eric Novels gives "God's Forge" a C+
April 24, 2020
Action packed story about the final days of the Paris Templars. Friday the 13th, 1307 Paris. King Phillip "the fair" rounds up the French Templars in an attempt to rob them of their famous wealth, and evade his own debt to them. A small group of Crusade veterans has to evade the French soldiers and escape the King's forces. Pretty good story of what might have happened.
May 12, 2013
Let me start by mentioning that I received an advance copy of the book from the other through goodreads giveaways.
This book will make a great summer read. While a busy few months at work means that I read it in fits and starts and took awhile to both finish the book and this review, I think I would normally have finished it in a weekend. A fun novel that is meant for an escape from reality, it puts an interesting spin on the closing days of the Order of the Temple. It is very character driven, with an unexpected character joining the Templars on their escape. This character added some great flavor and interesting tensions. I expected the book to get further into the escape than it did, but I guess that means it is perfectly set for a sequel.
I'm not sure I can give a better endorsement than the fact that if that sequel arrives, it will find a way onto my bookshelf!
This book will make a great summer read. While a busy few months at work means that I read it in fits and starts and took awhile to both finish the book and this review, I think I would normally have finished it in a weekend. A fun novel that is meant for an escape from reality, it puts an interesting spin on the closing days of the Order of the Temple. It is very character driven, with an unexpected character joining the Templars on their escape. This character added some great flavor and interesting tensions. I expected the book to get further into the escape than it did, but I guess that means it is perfectly set for a sequel.
I'm not sure I can give a better endorsement than the fact that if that sequel arrives, it will find a way onto my bookshelf!
May 2, 2013
An excellent story on the Knights Templar, God's soldiers in the often horrific and bloody Crusades. Character driven but with plenty of intrigue and action the story takes us from the Templar stronghold though the streets of Paris as the King's men try to hunt down a small party of devout Knights. Fighting to save their order, most in the party are unaware that their efforts protect a greater treasure as well.
March 15, 2015
Not really my cup of tea, as there are numerous lengthy descriptions of torture and battles.
However the historical fiction aspect about the demise of the Knights of Templar were quite interesting. The story mainly follows a small group of knights who escape during their Temple's invasion by the King of France. There are also flashback scenes to their time in the Crusades in the Holy Land, and the fate of their brothers who were left behind.
However the historical fiction aspect about the demise of the Knights of Templar were quite interesting. The story mainly follows a small group of knights who escape during their Temple's invasion by the King of France. There are also flashback scenes to their time in the Crusades in the Holy Land, and the fate of their brothers who were left behind.
May 8, 2013
Took me a little while to get into this one. Once I took a few minutes to do a little homework on the actual events that take place when this story would be taking place, it was much easier to get drawn into the story.
September 20, 2013
Good book - wish it was a bit longer..book was able to show the reader some of what the Templars went through in those times when they were being prosecuted.
Now to find more books about Templars!!
Now to find more books about Templars!!
October 7, 2016
There is a good story line here. The flow is a little slow, but it was an all right book. I would have liked to see less head hopping and more character development.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews